WARMINGTON: Armed carjackers aren’t even old enough to drive

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It turns out that a group of alleged armed carjackers accused of terrorizing Toronto are too young to drive legally.

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But apparently they’re not too young to hold a gun to people’s heads and demand their car or their money.

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The four teenagers were arrested for allegedly robbing eight pharmacies and hijacking three cars at gunpoint during a savage crime spree across the city between September 19 and October 5.

It was open season until Insp. Richard Harris and his Holdup Squad stopped them.

For now at least.

Toronto Police and York Regional Police allege that « one or two boys would approach vehicles pointing a handgun at the occupant while demanding their keys, vehicle and belongings. »

After driving away « from the scene in the stolen vehicle », police allege that a « group of several boys, often traveling in these stolen vehicles, entered pharmacies in a takeover-type robbery » where one would « produce a handgun and demand money and narcotics » then « flee to a waiting vehicle ».

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« On Thursday, October 6, 2022, officers observed the boys getting into a stolen vehicle that had been taken in a recent carjacking, » Toronto police said. “The Holdup Squad, with the assistance of the Toronto Police Emergency Task Force, York Region Holdup Squad and York Region Air Support, arrested the vehicle and took the boys into custody.

During the arrest, a “replica handgun, a large amount of stolen narcotics and clothing worn during the robberies were seized”.

A 16-year-old boy is charged with 11 counts of robbery with a firearm, 11 counts of disguise with intent to commit a felony, 11 counts of conspiracy to commit a major crime and three counts of possession goods over $5,000.

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The other three boys facing similar charges are only 14 years old.

Toronto is kickstarting our young criminals. Three of these boys were only six years old when John Tory became mayor of Toronto.

Here is Tory’s full statement on the teen crime spree:

“This is the type of police work that Toronto police officers do every day to keep our city safe and, in this particular case, to combat the increase in carjackings that we have seen in our region and in other parts of North America.

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“I support the work the police are doing to combat carjackings – which includes dedicated officers and field officers in the divisions – and I know Chief Ramer is also seized of this issue. The additional measures taken by the Toronto Police Service specifically to counter the increase in this criminal behavior were the subject of a full report given to the police commission at its meeting earlier this week. The commitment of new resources is significant and these arrests seem to show early progress.

« People who engage in carjackings should know that this is extremely dangerous and criminal behavior, they will be arrested and brought to justice. I will also say that the young age of the boys arrested in this case is extremely troubling to me as mayor and it should be troubling to all of us. As a city, we are making significant new investments in children and families this year to address the root causes of some of these behaviors and help young people stay on the right side of the law and away from the elements of organized crime that are responsible for much of this activity.

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Thirty-year-old former Toronto police officer Blake Acton, challenging the Conservatives in the October 24 mayoral election, doesn’t believe it.

« Nothing he did worked. Tory is talking about a good game, but the truth is the city is a dangerous mess and he’s responsible for it, » Acton said.Street checks and enquiries, TAVIS and officers in schools must be reinstated to fight crime.

“The justice system is a revolving door where criminals and young offenders become more violent as the number of innocent victims increases,” he added.

You know there is a problem when violent crime increases and the age of those charged decreases.

jwarmington@postmedia.com